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Places
of Worship
Calcutta is truly cosmopolitan,
both in the composition of its populace and
its religious beliefs. In the words of the
saint Sree Ramakrishna there are as many
ways of reaching God, as there are faiths.
And Calcutta is a living example of this.
Here, people of divergent languages, faiths,
cultures and religions, coexist peacefully.
For adherents of the Jain business community
there is the decoratively beautiful Jain
Temple, for the followers of Islam the
imposing ramparts of Nakhoda Mosque,
for people of Christian faith a multiplicity
of churches, - Catholic, Protestant,
Presbyterian, even Armenian, - and a Greek
Orthodox Church. For the Hindus there are
temples at Kalighat, Belur and
Dakhineswar.
Dhirdham Temple
The temple is situated below the railway
station. Built on the style of the famous
Pashupatinath Temple at Kathmandu in Nepal.
Yiga-Choling
Buddhist Monastery
This famous monastery at Ghoom enshrines an
enormous gilded 4.57-meter high statue of
the Maitreya Buddha.
Samtencholing
Monastery
This is situated on Hill Cart Road, about
7.kilometers from Darjeeling.
Bhutia Basti
Monastery
This monastery is situated below the Mall
about 15-minutes walk from the Mall
Dakshineswar
12 kilometers from Calcutta and 3 kilometers
from Belur Math across the Ganga is Dakshineswar. On the bank of the river is a
beautiful Navaratna temple (with nine
towers), dedicated to Bhabatarini (Goddess
Kali). It was built by Rani Rashmoni.
Dakshineswar Bhabatarini Temple is
associated with the great religious prophet
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. There are also
twelve Shiva temples and a temple of
Radhakrishna at Dakshineswar. Dakshineswar
is easily accessible from Calcutta by
metered taxis, buses and also local trains.
Bansberia
This is one of the main villages of the
ancient Saptagram. The chief objects of
interest here are the temples of Ananta
Vasudeva and Hanseswari. The
Hanseswari temple is unique in construction,
with thirteen minars each resembling a lotus
bud, while the inner arrangement are said to
follow the human anatomy. The place is 47
kilometers away from Calcutta.
Tarakeswar
Tarakeswar is 58 kilometers from Calcutta
and is accessible both by rail and road,
Tarakeswar’s principal attraction is the
temple of Tarakanath, an ‘atchala’
structure with a ‘natmandir’ in front.
Close by are the shrines of Kali and Lakshmi-Narayan.
Pilgrims visit the temple throughout the
year, especially on Mondays. But thousands
of pilgrims visit Tarakeswar on the occasion
of Shivaratri (Feb-March). During the month
of Sravana (mid-July to mid-August),
celebrations are held on each Monday.
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